Danielle Burkin approaches life with a simple directive: If something is worth doing, do it right. Professional, personal, spiritual – Burkin doesn’t settle.
So don’t be surprised if she surpasses a goal, especially when it involves her favorite charity, Samaritan’s Purse’s Operation Christmas Child that gives gift-filled shoeboxes to children in need around the world.
“My husband, Nick, and I shop all throughout the year finding items to put in our boxes, and we now have an entire section in our home designated for these items,” Burkin says.
Last year, she and her husband aimed to fill 40 shoeboxes and an additional 500 from her church, an effort she helped lead. But by turning to co-workers, Burkin surpassed her personal goal, filling 52 boxes; at her church, New Beginnings Fellowship in Hollister contributions also swelled to 602.
“This is not only my proudest accomplishment but my greatest passion and continued ministry,” she says. “Such a small and simple donation makes such a difference in the life of a child who has nothing. In the grand scheme of things, this is what really matters. I can only pray that through this exposure someone is ignited with a passion for this awesome organization.”
Burkin also applies her commitment to excellence at work. As project coordinator at Mercy Clinic-Facial Plastic Surgery, she held firm to her vision for the practice’s website overhaul, despite resistance at the idea of starting from scratch.
“This decision added much to my work and many months to our timeline, but hearing my physicians say thank you for pushing the project toward excellence and admitting that the website would not be what it was without my leadership made it all worth it,” Burkin says.
When she realized it would help to know graphic design, Burkin learned on her own time and at her own expense, a talent she now applies at work and church.
It’s that go-for-it approach that allowed Burkin to design her job, a position that didn’t exist before she created it.
“Loving what you do for a living is a luxury in life,” she says. “I have the privilege of splitting my time between two positions – one volunteer – that I love wholeheartedly and fulfill me in every way.”
As a volunteer staff member at her church, Burkin met a college student working her way through school while caring for her 10-year-old sister who had been bounced from home to home. Burkin and her husband, along with five other families, pulled together to offer financial support and guidance. Watching the younger girl excitedly ask if she could visit the dentist was both rewarding and heartbreaking.
“Oftentimes, when you give – whether it’s time, money or resources – it is really you who receives,” Burkin says.
Burkin also lends her design skills to her church as creative coordinator of the vacation Bible study program with over-the-top stage sets, including life-size game boards and working slime stations.
“When I was younger I defined success as a prospering career and financial security,” she says. “However, over the years, I have realize true success comes from walking with the Lord.”
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